Garment protector



March 16 1926. 1,577,499

LE ROY H. RAND GARMENT PROTECTOR- Filed Jan. 12, 1923 MM. r l

' LE Roy H. RAND IE not H. n, or BROOKLYN, new roan, assrenoa 'ro nnooxmm SHIELD & nonnm comma, or BROOKLYN, mew YORK, A conrona'rron or new YORK.

eanrann'r' rno'rng'ron.

Application filed January 12, 1923. Serial No. 612,216.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, LE RoY H. RAND, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the borough of Brooklyn, in the county of 6 Kings, city and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improve- .ments in Garment Protectors, of which the following is a specification, reference beingmade to the accompanying drawings, forming a part thereof.

My invention relates more particularly to garment-protectors of the moisture-proof type which are adapted to be worn by 1nfants as a protective covering for the cus- .tomary absorbent diaper, these protectors being made in a side-seamed formof babyants having waist and 1e openings inlierently capable of expan ing and then closing or contracting about the infants bed to aficrd an efiective closure and protection, and furthermore to prevent an e ess of moisture as well as to be comfortab e to the wearer.

The objects of my invention are, among other things, to provide an article of this general character in which there is embodied ineans for automatically drawing up the middle portion of the pants between the leg openings so as to obviate the hanging 80 down of the seat or baggy efiect between the childs legs when the garment-protector is in use. Heretofore baby pants have been made with a plain seat and crotch portions, both in front and back, which caused baggin between the legs and is commonly regari led as a serious defect in such baby pants; my present improvement remedies such faults by providing an automatic shirring or gather to hold u the otherwise baggy seat, while allowing or the usual expansion and the contraction for the garment as a whole when fitted and adjusted about the waist and le s of the child to cover the ordinary absor ent dia er. I

These and other 0 jects of my improvement will be hereinafter fully set forth and particularly pointed out in the appended claims. Preferred embodiments of my invention are shown in the accompanying drawings in which-- Fi .1 is a front elevation view of a pair of ha y pants embodying one form of my improvements;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation showing another form;

Fi 3 is an enlarged sectional view show mg e gather or shirring reinforced by an elastic strip;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the strip partially covering the shirring in the crotch of the ants;'and

F1g. is a ront elevation view with the reinforc ng strip covering the shirring on the outside of the pants.

S1milar numerals refer to similar parts throu bout the several fi res. Ref

erring to the .drawings and more particularly to Fig. 1, the improved protector 1s preferably formed of sheet rubber material or any water-proof fabric cut from a single sheet and preferably united by sideseams (not shown) between the waist opening and the two leg openings 7 and 8, each openlng being formed by the folded-over hem of the front portion 9 and rear portion 10 and then secured by lines of stitching 11, whereby annular looped pockets are produced with shirring 12 about the peripheries of the openings. Within each pocket is the usual elastic band (not shown), which produces the shirring 12 about each of the openings to allow of a ready distension of the garment when about to be placed about the body and legs of the wearer. In ordinary forms of baby-pants the seat or crotch portion extends downwardly to the dot and dash line 13 shown in Fig. 1 which produces an undesirable bagging and fullness between the leg openings 7 and 8.

. To produce shirring or gather 14 in the sheet rubber substantially in the dividing line of the garment, as shown in Fig. 1, the plain sheet of material while the rubber is in its uncured condition is laidon a roll and then a plain elastic strip 15 (Fig. 3) is stretched and cemented or otherwise fastened to this uncured rubber causing same to gather or shirr with transverse corrugations as the elastic. stri 15 is released and assumes its normal orm. The rubber material is then vulcanized and the strip 15 ma be removed as is shown in Fig. 1, 'or suc strip may remain attached to cover and reinforce the shirring 14 either inside the garment as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, or outside as shown in Fig. 5.

In Fig. 2 I have shown the shirring 14 as ring 14 only in the crotch while the exposed ends of the shining extend to the hem of the waist openm 6.

In all these Forms of construction this shirring 14, either with or without the aid of the elastic strip 15, serves to advantageously gather or draw up the sheet rubber material between the legs of the child so that a snug fit is automatically produced in the seat to cover the underlying diaper, without any bagging which produces discomfort in the child as well as an undesirable fullness in the pants rendering it likely to be torn or ripped if the child be playing upon the floor. My improvement therefore automatically provides means for gathering up the fullness of the garment, particularly in the crotch, while allowing for the required expansion and contraction in placing the pants on the child.

The invention is not to be limited to the particular constructions shown, nor to any particular details whereby this desired gathered effect may be produced, as many changes and alterations may be made without departing from the principles of the invention and without sacrificing its advantages.

I claim as my invention:

1. A garment-protector comprising a body formed of a single piece of elastic material having waist and leg openings with a seamless loose seat therebetween, and expandible and contractible means, comprising a single line of shirring extending from front to back through the middle of the crotch and integral with the body, for normally gathering the looseness of the seat from both front and back in expandibly drawn-up position between the leg openings.

2. In a garment-protector formed with. a single-pieced body of elastic material having waist and leg openings with a seamless loose seat therebetween, of a continuous line of shirring integral with said body and seat and extending unbrokenly from opposite sides of the waist opening through the crotch of the seat, and a strip of elastic material of substantially the same length as said shirring secured over said shirring whereby said shirring and said strip both act to normally gather the baggy lcoseness of the seat in expendibly drawn-up position between the leg openings.

3. In a garment-protector formed with a single pieced body of elastic material having waist and leg openin s with a seamless loose seat therebetween, o? a continuous line of shirring integral with said body and seat and extending unbrokenly from op osite sides of the waist opening throug the crotch of the seat, and a strip of elastic material of substantially the same length as said shirring secured over the inner face of said shirring whereby said shirring and said strip both act to normally gather the baggy looseness of the seat in expandibly drawn-up position between the leg openings.

4;. In a garment-protector formed with a single-pieced body of elastic material having waist and leg openings with a seamless loose seat therebetween, of a continuous line of shirring integral with said body and seat and extending unbrokenly from opposite sides of the waist opening throu h the crotch of the seat, and a strip of elastic material secured over one side of the crotch portion of said shirring below the waist opening whereby said shirring and said strip both act to normally gather t e baggy looseness of the seat in expandibly drawn-up po sition between the leg openings.

5. In a garment protector formed with a single-pieced body of elastic waterproof material having shirred waist and leg openings with a seamless loose seat therebetween, of a continuous vertical line of transverse shirring integral with said body and seat extending from opposite parts of the waist opening through the crotch of the seat, and a fiat elastic strip. secured over the shirring throughout its length, said shirring and strip both acting in unison to normally and yieldingly gather from both front and back the looseness of the seat in expandibly drawn-up position between the leg openings.

LE ROY H. RAND. 

